I guess that it also depends on the LM’s style a lot too. I take about 8 hours (about three sessions) to take players through The Marsh Bell adventure. For the latest group that I am taking through The Marsh Bell, I have added in an extra combat, they have discovered a ruin, they will be going through a blighted area. The journeys in my games really feel like journeys because they are padded out with places to see and things to do along the way. Don’t Leave the Path took my players about 24 hours (six sessions) to complete. In Winterwolfs campaign Zed’s Theft of the Moon was an epic 12 sessions each lasting about 4hrs.

Awarding too little XP becomes an issue about managing reward vs effort and/or player expectations on character growth. The upside is that XP is not the only way to improve a character and AP are very important too, a mechanic that involves the character successfully completing tasks and learning from that experience. Being good with a sword (growth through XP) is not the only thing that is necessary to survive in the wilderness, all those skills come in handy too (growth through AP). As calculated above, there is little chance of a character maxing out on AP in a short timeframe.

Again, I do like Rich’s point that an LM has to be careful of maxing out on XP towards the end of the long campaign to a point where any extra XP gains become irrelevant. However, I do think that the game system caters for this somewhat. Example: Players spending xp for the chance at magical treasure or early retirement due to the higher probability of a character descending into madness as he/she spends more and more time in the wild fighting the enemy.

Again, I do like Rich’s point that an LM has to be careful of maxing out on XP towards the end of the long campaign to a point where any extra XP gains become irrelevant. However, I do think that the game system caters for this somewhat.

... And the idea that PCs should retire, however, without high Shadow or old age or an in-character reason for doing such a thing they aren't going to. I think TOR assumes Shadow gain and Hope loss will take its toll before PCs reach XP levels that are too high. That's an okay assumption but is one that can really vary for each gaming group as there are lots of variables at play there. Still, I'm happy with my campaign and where its at!

I think TOR assumes Shadow gain and Hope loss will take its toll before PCs reach XP levels that are too high.

Or just that the character's ongoing story leads to a natural retirement, whether due to age or having accomplished everything he or she set out to do. I think The One Ring assumes less of a motivation to level up your character than to participate in satisfying, Tolkien-like stories. In those, adventurers usually eventually settle down for good, even when they could continue adventuring.

Or just that the character's ongoing story leads to a natural retirement, whether due to age or having accomplished everything he or she set out to do. I think The One Ring assumes less of a motivation to level up your character than to participate in satisfying, Tolkien-like stories. In those, adventurers usually eventually settle down for good, even when they could continue adventuring.

Yep, definitely. I think there's a challenge to this being presented in a neat and satisfying way though; certainly the way I run my campaign where plots/stories will begin before previous ones have finished so it's difficult for the player characters to feel they can step away and 'retire' when there are still evils in the world and ones that they feel directly relate to them. I like this kind of ambiguity though and even actively introduce it; for instance, one of my players (a Barding character of high standing and renown and emissary) has been told by the Bard that he'd like him by his side, closer to home and protecting his son. Brand (the PC) and his player still feels he has much to do in Wilderland, or at least can't turn his back on what he feels are his responsibilities, so there's a real tension developing. Bard has yet to make this a command (as a GM I don't want to do that) but it is creating a really interesting dynamic in the game at the moment which I'm glad I introduced.

So I'm wondering specifically about XP rewards for The Darkening of Mirkwood campaign. We've been finding that we typically get through most of the adventures in one session or so (though not always), and usually only do one adventure per year (though not always). So most sessions cover about 1 year of the campaign time and usually feature one adventure and one fellowship phase. There are of course occasional exceptions. A few years we've had two adventures and a few times we've had an extra fellowship phase (usually in the years where we have an extra adventure). Occasionally we take two sessions to finish an adventure/year. But for the most part we're going one adventure/year and one year/session.

At the start of the game we were getting between 2 and 3 XP per session most of the time. Which, generally covers and adventure and a year. At some point a while back our LM decided that because of the way we were playing our campaign the suggested rules from the book didn't really quite fit with the way DoM works (adventures generally not taking more than one session) and dropped us down to an average of about 1 XP per session. I feel like this may be a bit too slow now and I'm starting to get a little concerned that as the challenges ramp up our characters may not be ready to meet them at this new pace. (We have had a few sessions recently where we've gotten 2 XP again becuase a lot happened/there were significant events that year). At the start of 2957 (which in this case has turned out to be a split session for this adventure so we're still on it after the last session ended) my character had 27 XP, and I'm about average for the group (as people have missed a session or two here and there they haven't gotten XP for those sessions).

So my firstquestion is: Is this slow? I guess we've played about 11 or 12 or so years, and maybe 12 to 15 adventures total? (we did start out with a couple of quick adventures before starting the campaign proper to give everyone a chance to learn the system and get comfortable with the mechanics).

Play at whatever pace you and your group prefer. There's no need to keep on par with anyone else. This advice is not actionable, but it is true. The recommendations given in the book are designed to make the game emulate Tolkien. It's all about the feel. So whatever feels right to you is right.

My advice would be to play longer adventures. If the adventures in Darkening of Mirkwood are too short, ask your Loremaster to put more into them. Don't just pad them; put more actual content into them. The adventures in Darkening are mostly meant to be viewed as bare outlines, to be embellished and incorporated as the Loremaster deems best. Make stuff up.

So my firstquestion is: Is this slow? I guess we've played about 11 or 12 or so years, and maybe 12 to 15 adventures total? (we did start out with a couple of quick adventures before starting the campaign proper to give everyone a chance to learn the system and get comfortable with the mechanics).

My second question is: If it is slow, is that likely to be a problem?

There really isn't a "right" or "wrong" answer, but I'll give you what I did, just so you have another game to compare it to. I looked at the first 11 years or so of Darkening for us, which was about 14 adventures. For characters who played regularly during this time, they gained about 65 XP, so more than double your totals.

I went with the formulas given by C7, but scaled things higher because we tend to play longer sessions overall than what the book suggested.

Thanks guys. I'll keep an eye on things and see how they're going, but it sounds like we might be alright against the tougher challenges (both in and out of combat) even with the lower XP totals, so I'll try not to worry too much about it unless it really becomes a problem. It is a little frustrating as a player though having to wait so many sessions between bumps, but I suppose we do continue to accumulate AP's so it's not like there's no advancement happening between Valor and Wisdom jumps.

Thanks guys. I'll keep an eye on things and see how they're going, but it sounds like we might be alright against the tougher challenges (both in and out of combat) even with the lower XP totals, so I'll try not to worry too much about it unless it really becomes a problem. It is a little frustrating as a player though having to wait so many sessions between bumps, but I suppose we do continue to accumulate AP's so it's not like there's no advancement happening between Valor and Wisdom jumps.

Great advice from people already to go with what fits your group but make sure it does; advancing too quickly can cause challenges as outlined already. The advantage of your situation, if you think you may be going a little too slow, is that you can always hand out a bunch of XP at the end of a particularly important quest or a point in your Tale of Years, or even after "10 years of adventuring...".